NEW YORK, Mar 03 (APP): Israel’s military forces carried out systematic looting in Gaza, southern Lebanon, and even parts of Syria amid ongoing accusations of war crimes, according to media reports quoting Ynet, an Israeli outlet.
The stolen items included boxes of cash valued at nearly $28 million, gold bars, and countless family heirlooms stripped from homes in Gaza, the leaked Israeli report said.
Israeli soldiers from the ‘Loot Unit’, consisting of over 500 people, seized “mountains of cash” in enemy territory, it said. In one case, the unit seized around $1 million from the private home of a Hamas brigade commander.
Also, “independent” looting by soldiers has also been rampant.
In addition to valuables, soldiers took 183,000 pieces of weaponry- enough to arm a small army – including Soviet-era tanks, French and German rifles, sniper weapons, anti-aircraft missiles, drones, and advanced anti-tank weaponry.
Collectors’ items, such as rare pistols used by senior Hezbollah members, were also taken.
The reports were confirmed after Palestinians returned to what remains of their homes in Khan Younis and Gaza City amid a fragile ceasefire, with many describing rooms ransacked, safes emptied, and personal belongings stolen.
Graffiti left behind by Israeli soldiers mocked displaced families, while reports from Rafah reveal similar tales of theft during military operations.
While much of the looting has been carried out by specialized Israeli army units tasked with “seizing” assets from what they deem “enemy” territory, rampant individual theft by soldiers has also been reported.
“We don’t like to just take in loot, keep it, and maintain it without making a profit from it,” Lt. Col. Sharon Kotler told Israeli newspaper Ynet. “I always ask what the value of this loot is.”
In southern Lebanon, Israeli commandos conducted covert missions through remote villages, physically hauling stolen weapons and valuables across the border under the cover of the night.
“At first, we carried missiles, weapons, and crates of ammunition back to Israel on our backs,” one officer referred to only as ‘A’ was quoted as saying. “But it quickly became too much. It really broke our backs.”
The spoils are now stashed in secretive warehouses and reinforced bunkers scattered across Israel.
Military sources quoted by Ynet, suggested that Israeli engineering units may repurpose some of the seized explosives to meet soaring demand, while others have considered transferring parts of the arsenal to Ukraine.
